A New Beginning

Greg Laurie: Evangelism is never going to be passé. We might find new and creative ways to do it, but ultimately, we never want to deviate from this calling God has given to all of us. The gospel, the good news that can save people from their sins, is the most important thing we have. We need to share it. There is power in the message of the gospel, and that power will always be there.

Guest (Male): When you share a smile with someone, it is not like they take it from you and you do not have it anymore. Often, you both end up smiling. When you share a word of encouragement, both of you are the better for it. When you share the good news of God's love, it can touch both of you profoundly.

Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie shares how the gospel is at the very center of God's plan for mankind. It is the one thing that can change the eternal trajectory of someone else's life.

Greg Laurie: One of the real traits of the Jesus Movement was people were out everywhere sharing the gospel. When is the last time you saw that? When you are out in a public place, an amusement park, down by the pier, or out in a mall somewhere, you just saw a bunch of people, maybe even carrying a Bible, engaging people in conversations about Jesus Christ. We did a lot of that.

I became a Christian at the age of 17. I was going to church and I heard the pastor say we should go share our faith. I thought, "I have been a Christian two weeks. I know so much about God now. I better go out and talk to people." My theological knowledge could have fit into a thimble, but I knew Jesus had changed my life. I knew it was all true and I wanted to go talk to somebody.

Back then, there was a little booklet out called The Four Spiritual Laws, put out by Campus Crusade for Christ. It was very simple; it just asked questions. I was so new at this, I had not even memorized the contents of the booklet yet. I went out to the beach, it was Newport Beach, and I was looking for someone to talk to.

I saw this middle-aged lady and I thought, "Maybe she will be nice to me. Maybe she will take pity on me." I walked up to her and said, "Hi, can I talk to you a little bit about God?" She looked at me and said, "Sure, sit down." I sat down and my voice was shaking. You know when you get nervous and you cannot stop your voice from shaking?

I literally was just reading this booklet to her. I had not even memorized it. I just said, "I'll just read this to you: The Four Spiritual Laws, copyright 1964, Campus Crusade for Christ. Law one: God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Law two: you've sinned."

I was reading through this booklet and thinking, "This is so not going to work. I'm crashing and burning right now and I want this to be over with, but at least I can say to my Christian friends I actually started a conversation about Jesus." I'm almost through the booklet. I looked up at her periodically and she was just looking at me with no real reaction.

I got to the end and there was a question to ask a person: "Is there any good reason why you should not accept Jesus Christ right now?" I realized it was a question, so I asked her. She said, "No." I said, "What? No?" I asked, "You mean you want to accept Jesus Christ right now?" She said, "Yes." I said, "Excellent, great. Let's just pray. Bow your head."

I had not planned for success; I planned for failure. She closes her eyes. I'm frantically searching this booklet for some prayer, something. "What do I do now?" I found a prayer. I led her in the prayer. To show you how little faith I had, even as I'm leading her in this prayer, I'm thinking to myself, "This isn't going to work."

As she's done praying this prayer of asking Christ to come into her life, she opened her eyes and said, "Something just happened to me." I'm like, "Whoa, something just happened to me too." I realized that God could use an idiot like me.

I guarantee I could pick anybody in this room and you would know so much more about the Bible and so much more about Jesus Christ than I knew as a two-week-old Christian, but I went for it and God blessed it. This is the thing: we way overcomplicate evangelism. We get all worked up about it, all stressed about it, and overly nervous about it, and we don't understand that you can be used by God to share the gospel.

I remember there were Christians everywhere doing this. We called them the Jesus freaks. I remember even before I was a Christian, we'd see the Jesus freaks going down the beach. They'd have their Bibles and they're looking for sinners. We would all go in the water until they passed because they would never come in the water for some reason. Maybe they didn't want to get their Bibles wet. Some of them should have figured out they should have had a surfing evangelism ministry and paddled out to where people are.

That was the way it was back then. You say, "That's great, man. I wish it was that way today. Why can't it be that way today?" Last time I checked, the Great Commission is still in the Bible. You know what the Great Commission is. It's the words of Jesus to go into all the world and preach the gospel.

The Bible tells us how they will hear unless someone tells them. Listen, the primary way that God reaches people is through people. This hasn't changed. Therefore, why are we not doing it today? I think what we need to do is understand that evangelism is really communication with people. When the Bible says go into all the world and preach the gospel, you can do that conversationally.

When we engage a person, you want to build a bridge to them. You might think because I'm a preacher I have a little pulpit like this that I take with me everywhere and I preach to everyone I meet. When I speak in a study like this or in a stadium, it's a monologue. It's me talking to people.

But when I engage non-believers, it's a dialogue. I don't come with all the answers. I ask a lot of questions and I listen because I don't want to come off like a know-it-all. For starters, I'm not a know-it-all and, to the point, I'm not better than anybody. I'm better off, but I'm not better. You come in a sort of a humility.

Jesus himself modeled this with the woman at the well. He actually asked her for a drink of water. He comes to her in a humble way and he listens to her, and then he engages her with the message of the gospel. That's what we want to do. Sooner or later, you're going to have to get down to the bottom line.

The bottom line of the gospel is all of humanity has sinned. There's nothing we can do to get rid of that sin. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for that sin and to rise again from the dead. If we will turn from our sin and believe in Jesus, we can go to heaven. That's the gospel. I know we're maybe reluctant to share that, but there's power in the message of the gospel.

The power's always been there and the power will always be there because Paul said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes." The word that he uses there for power is the Greek word *dunamis*, which means dynamic, dynamite power.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Emails, phone calls, and social media messages from listeners are so encouraging to us and they let us know the effectiveness of these studies.

Guest (Female): Pastor Greg, I've been a born-again Christian for over 30 years. Every time I listen to you, I learn new verses and you teach me new things about the Lord and my own faith. I'm encouraged now to go spread the gospel with others. God bless you and keep up the good work.

Guest (Male): When we hear from you, it's not only a blessing, it also confirms that the program is touching lives. Would you consider sharing your story? If so, call Pastor Greg at 866-871-1144. That's 866-871-1144.

We're talking about the importance of sharing the gospel today as Pastor Greg presents a message called The Jesus Revolution and Evangelism.

Greg Laurie: Years ago, I was at Billy Graham's house and I wanted to ask him a question. I said, "Billy, if an older Billy could speak to a younger Billy, what would he say? What advice would you give a younger you after all these years of preaching and sharing the gospel?" He said, "I would preach more on the cross of Christ and the blood because that's what the power is."

I never forgot that. Whenever I speak, I always want to talk about the fact that Jesus died on the cross for the sin of the world and that His blood was shed for them. If you want to really pay tribute to a guy like Billy Graham, do what Billy did. What did Billy do? He preached the gospel and he invited people to follow Jesus Christ.

Evangelism is never going to be passé. It's always going to be something God wants us to do. Now we might find new and creative ways to do it, but ultimately, we never want to deviate from this calling God has given to all of us. In Luke chapter 15, we're given a perspective of how God views those that don't know Him.

We have three metaphors that are employed by Jesus to show how God loves people. We have a shepherd who lost a sheep, a woman who lost a coin, and a father who lost a son. Have you ever lost anything of great value and you're searching for it because you've got to find it?

The idea of a coin, a woman had a coin, is probably the idea of a wedding hat she would wear, a headband sort of, and it would have coins in it. To lose a coin was not just losing a dime or a quarter; it was losing your wedding ring. That was a big deal, so she searched until she found it. Then we have a father who lost a son and a shepherd who lost a sheep.

Years ago, I lost something of great value to me as a kid. I had a little parakeet and his name was Popcorn. I don't know why I named him Popcorn, but that's what I called him. I was down on Balboa Island and I saw this guy who had a parrot on his shoulder. It just sat on his shoulder. It didn't fly away and I asked the guy about his parrot. He goes, "Oh, he's tame, he doesn't fly away." I thought that was so cool.

At my house, Popcorn would fly out of his cage when I called his name and land on my shoulder. I'd walk around the house with him. So I thought maybe I'll do that with Popcorn. I'll go down to Balboa Island with Popcorn the parakeet on my shoulder and it'll be just like the guy with the parrot.

I walked around the house for a while making sure he wouldn't fly away. Then I walked outside and Popcorn just flew up. I never saw him again. He's just gone. So for days, I was walking up and down the street: "Popcorn! Popcorn!" People are thinking, "That poor boy is hungry, give him something to eat."

Just the other day, I drove by that same neighborhood and I rolled down the window of my car: "Popcorn!" And a really old bird landed on my windshield with a beard. No, not really, but he's gone. I searched and I searched, but I couldn't find him. Jesus talked about the Father searching for lost people as like a shepherd looking for a sheep.

Now, sheep, I don't know if you've been around sheep very often, but in Israel, sometimes we'll see a flock of sheep. Everyone gets really excited because everyone wants a picture with a sheep in Israel or a little lamb, even better. I've always heard they're stupid, but now having seen them up close and personal, they really are dumb animals.

They have their purpose in life. They're excellent with mint jelly and we can make sweaters out of them. So it's great, but these are animals that literally cannot defend themselves. These are animals that cannot run, they cannot bite, and they're incredibly dumb.

I read an article a while ago that talked about a bunch of sheep, 1,800 sheep, who died. I thought, "What?" and I had to click it. What happened was one sheep walked off of a cliff. This happened in Turkey. One sheep walked off the edge of a cliff and all the other sheep followed.

How stupid is that? So the one sheep goes to the edge of the cliff, looks around, says, "Okay, single file, we're all going to die today. Let's go, sheep. It's not that bad." He jumps and they all follow because that's how dumb sheep are. That's why the Bible says, "All we like sheep have gone astray." We're that dumb.

There's a shepherd who has 100 sheep and one goes astray. He could have just said, "Win a few, lose a few. Cost of doing business." No, Jesus said that shepherd went and searched for the sheep until he found it and he wrapped it around his neck and brought it home rejoicing.

Then Jesus makes His point: "I tell you in the same way there is joy in heaven over one sinner that comes to repentance." But really, the crescendo of Luke 15 is the story of the prodigal son. That's the one that we all remember best. The story of the boy that left home, dragged the family name through the gutter, spent his inheritance, messed his life up, got drunk, hung out with prostitutes, did everything wrong, and one day he came to his senses and he returned home.

When the father saw him from a distance, and this is Jesus telling the story, he ran to his son. He threw his arms around him, he kissed him, and said, "This my son who was dead is alive again. He who was lost is found." Jesus portrayed God the Father as an older man willing to lose his dignity to get his son.

Let me explain. In the first-century culture, old men did not run. It was considered undignified, not to mention it's harder for old men to run. You'd have to pull your robe up above your knees and in the story that Jesus tells, and if Jesus hadn't told it, it would almost seem irreverent, he portrays the Father as an older man missing his son, running to get to him.

I think maybe one of the reasons, we can only opine on this, but maybe one of the reasons the Father was running to his son is he knew the people in the village might stone him because he had disgraced the father, disgraced the village, disgraced the name of the Lord. The Father said, "I've got to get to that son of mine before they kill that boy." He threw his arms around him and they're not going to kill the boy if the Father's arms are wrapped around him. That's us. We're sinners and God says, "I'm going to get to you. I'm going to push any obstacle out of the way to get to you." In the same way that the Father loves us, we should love the world.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie with insights today on the dynamics of evangelism and how it's reflected in the parable of the prodigal son. There's more to come here on A New Beginning from this presentation called The Jesus Revolution and Evangelism.

Let me also mention the movie, *Jesus Revolution*. It's actually Pastor Greg's personal story of coming to Christ set against the backdrop of the Jesus Movement. It's now available for streaming on many platforms. Now, as Pastor Greg was talking, maybe it feels like our Heavenly Father has been pursuing you. You're sensing He wants you to come back to Him. Pastor Greg, speak to that person who's having those thoughts today.

Greg Laurie: Yes, here's what the Bible says: whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. You need to reach out to God. Not just think about it, not just say one of these days I would like to, just do it. In fact, you can do it right now. You say, "How do I call out to the name of the Lord?" You do it through prayer.

God is just a prayer away. He desires a relationship with you. He wants you to know Him. He wants to reveal Himself to you. So you just need to call out and say, "Lord, save me and help me." How about if I lead you in a prayer? You could pray this prayer after me. You can pray it out loud if you like, you can pray it quietly in your heart, but direct this prayer toward God and you could pray it after me right now. You ready?

Pray this after me: Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that You're the Savior and I want a relationship with You. So as Your word says, I'm calling on the name of the Lord. I'm asking You to save me from my sin and I'm asking that we begin a new relationship today.

Thank You for loving me and sending Your Son Jesus to die on the cross for my sin and then raising Him from the dead. I now put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ and I ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

Guest (Male): Amen. If you have just prayed that prayer along with Pastor Greg and you've meant those words sincerely, let us be the first to welcome you into the family of God. We want to help you get started off right in this new daily walk with the Lord.

Pastor Greg would like to send you his New Believer's Bible. It's a special edition of God's word for those who are new to the faith with scores of helps for new believers written by Pastor Greg. There are more than 10 million of these in print, so get in touch and ask for the New Believer's Bible. We'll send it free of charge.

Just call 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California 92514. Or go online to harvest.org and click the words "Know God".

Pastor Greg, we're so thankful for the work God is doing through this ministry. We're touching lives for eternity. We're really thankful for our friends who see the fruit of this ministry and invest so this work can reach even further, isn't that right?

Greg Laurie: Absolutely. When you invest in Harvest Ministries, you're investing in the souls of men and women, boys and girls. What is the value of a soul? Let me personalize it. What's the value of your soul? What's the value of the soul of your husband, your wife, your son or your daughter, or your mommy or your daddy, or your best friend?

Well, I would say you probably couldn't put a price tag on it. It's so valuable. Well, listen, God says all souls are mine. God loves us and sent His Son to die on the cross to pay the price for all of our sin so we could be forgiven and come into a relationship with Him.

I can't think of a better investment of my resources, of my money, than in the work of the Kingdom of God. So we would ask you to prayerfully consider investing in Harvest Ministries as we continue on to fulfill the Great Commission.

Guest (Male): That's right and you can make your donation right now at harvest.org or write us at A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24/7 phone number, 1-800-821-3300.

Next time, we'll see how this information age is such an important time to share the most important information we have, the gospel of Jesus Christ. More from Pastor Greg's series, *Jesus Revolution*. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher, Greg Laurie.